{"id":"F2019L00123","name":"Australian Postal Corporation (Performance Standards) Regulations 2019","slug":"australian-postal-corporation-performance-standards-regulations-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":98745,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2019L00123-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1 Name\n\n This instrument is the Australian Postal Corporation (Performance Standards) Regulations 2019.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\n This instrument is made under the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 5 Definitions\n\n In this instrument:\n\n> Act means the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989.\n\n> bulk mail means a letter lodged with Australia Post for delivery under its bulk mail service, and accepted by Australia Post for delivery under that service.\n\n> in major cities means located in a Statistical Area Level 1 that is, under Edition 3 of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard, published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as existing at the time this definition commences:\n\n (a) categorised as RA0 (Major Cities of Australia); or\n (b) in the Urban Centre and Locality of Hobart; or\n (c) in the Urban Centre and Locality of Darwin.\n\n> Note: The Australian Statistical Geography Standard could in 2024 be viewed on the website of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au).\n\n> mail lodgement point means a mail lodgement point maintained for the purposes of section 10.\n\n> notified clearance day has the meaning given by subsection 8(7A).\n\n> notified clearance time has the meaning given by subsection 8(7B).\n\n> reserved services letter has the meaning given by subsection 8(1).\n\n> retail outlet has the meaning given by subsection 11(1).\n\n> street posting box means a container provided in a public place by Australia Post for the lodgement of standard postal articles for collection and delivery by Australia Post.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Mail deliveries","content":"## Part 2—Mail deliveries","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Purposes of this Part","content":"#### 6 Purposes of this Part\n\n For the purposes of section 28C of the Act, this Part prescribes performance standards to be met by Australia Post in respect of the frequency, speed and accuracy of mail delivery.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Frequency of delivery","content":"#### 7 Frequency of delivery\n\n (1) Australia Post must service:\n (a) at least every second day (disregarding a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday in the place where the delivery point is located)—98% of all delivery points; and\n (b) at least 2 days each week—99.7% of all delivery points.\n (2) For the purposes of this section, a delivery point is a mail address that, taking account of accessibility, delivery cost and general volume of mail for the address, it is practicable and reasonable to service frequently.\n\n> Note: The following are examples of delivery points:\n\n (a) street and roadside letter delivery boxes;\n (b) post office private boxes and locked bags;\n (c) private and community bags.\n (3) For the purposes of this section, to service a delivery point means to be available to visit the delivery point and, if there is a postal article addressed to the delivery point, deliver the article.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Accuracy and speed of delivery","content":"#### 8 Accuracy and speed of delivery\n\n (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), this section applies to the delivery of letters (reserved services letters) covered by subsection 29(2) of the Act.\n\n> Note: Subsection 29(2) of the Act sets out services that are reserved services of Australia Post.\n\n (2) This section does not apply to the delivery of the following:\n (a) a letter covered by section 30 of the Act;\n (b) a letter originating outside Australia;\n (c) a letter lodged with Australia Post for delivery as bulk mail;\n (ca) a letter for which an additional fee is paid for priority delivery;\n (d) a letter removed from the normal course of carriage by Australia Post under subsection 90UA(1) or (3) of the Act, unless the letter is returned to the normal course of carriage under subsection 90UB(3) or 90UC(3) of the Act.\n\n> Note: Section 30 of the Act sets out exceptions to the reserved services of Australia Post.\n\n (3) This section does not apply to a letter lodged with Australia Post for delivery to an address that is not normally serviced at the frequency mentioned in paragraph 7(1)(a).\n (4) Australia Post must deliver at least 94% of all reserved services letters lodged with Australia Post at a mail lodgement point in accordance with subsections (5) and (6).\n (5) Australia Post must deliver a reserved services letter to:\n (a) the indicated address; or\n (b) if Australia Post knows that the indicated address is not the appropriate address—the appropriate address.\n (6) Australia Post must deliver a reserved services letter within the delivery time for the letter set out in the item (if any) in the following table that covers:\n (a) the mail lodgement point at which the letter is lodged; and\n (b) the address to which Australia Post must deliver the letter under subsection (5).\n\n```html\n

Delivery time for reserved services letters

Item

Column 1

If the mail lodgement point is...

Column 2

and the delivery address is...

Column 3

then the delivery time for a reserved services letter is...

Part 1—Delivery within a State

1

in the capital city of a State

within that capital city

4 business days after day of posting

2

in another city, or a town, in a State

within:

(a) that city or town; or

(b) an adjacent city or town in that State

4 business days after day of posting

3

in the capital city of a State

in a place within that State other than that capital city

5 business days after day of posting

4

in another city, or a town, in a State

in a place within that State other than:

(a) that city or town; or

(b) an adjacent city or town in that State

5 business days after day of posting

5

in a place in a State other than a place mentioned in column 1 of item 1 or 2 of this table

within that State

5 business days after day of posting

Part 2—Delivery between States

6

in the capital city of a State

within the capital city of another State

6 business days after day of posting

7

outside the capital city of a State

within the capital city of another State

7 business days after day of posting

8

in the capital city of a State

outside the capital city of another State

7 business days after day of posting

9

outside the capital city of a State

outside the capital city of another State

8 business days after day of posting

\n```\n\n (7) For the purposes of the table in subsection (6), the day of posting for a reserved services letter lodged with Australia Post at a mail lodgement point is:\n (a) if paragraphs (aa) and (b) do not apply—the day the letter is lodged; or\n (aa) if paragraph (b) does not apply, there are notified clearance days for the mail lodgement point and the letter is lodged:\n (i) on a notified clearance day but after the notified clearance time for that day; or\n (ii) on a day that is not a notified clearance day;\n the first notified clearance day after the day the letter is lodged; or\n (b) if the letter is removed from the normal course of carriage by Australia Post under subsection 90UA(1) or (3) of the Act and subsequently returned to the normal course of carriage under subsection 90UB(3) or 90UC(3) of the Act—the day on which the letter is returned to the normal course of carriage by Australia Post.\n\n> Note: Street posting boxes bear a notice setting out the latest time on a day for posting before clearance of the box.\n\n> Note: Example: A street posting box bears a notice stating that the latest time for posting before clearance of the box is 2 pm, Monday to Friday. A letter is posted in the box at 6 pm on Friday. The day of posting is the following Monday, if paragraph (b) does not apply.\n\n (7A) A notified clearance day is a day for which there is a notified clearance time.\n (7B) A notified clearance time, for a day, is a time notified as the latest time for posting at the mail lodgement point on that day.\n\n> Note: The mail lodgement point may have notified clearance times for every day or for only some days, or it may have no notified clearance times at all.\n\n (8) A reference in the table in subsection (6) to a State includes a reference to the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"Part 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Accessibility of services","content":"## Part 3—Accessibility of services","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Purposes of this Part","content":"#### 9 Purposes of this Part\n\n For the purposes of section 28C of the Act, this Part prescribes performance standards to be met by Australia Post in respect of the availability and accessibility of:\n (a) post‑boxes and other mail lodgement points; and\n (b) offices of Australia Post from which Australia Post products or services may be purchased.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Mail lodgement points—articles other than bulk mail","content":"#### 10 Mail lodgement points—articles other than bulk mail\n\n (1) Australia Post must maintain the following mail lodgement points in Australia for the lodgement of postal articles other than bulk mail:\n (a) lodgement facilities at each of its retail outlets;\n (b) at least 10,000 street posting boxes.\n (2) A lodgement facility at a retail outlet may be a street posting box.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Retail outlets","content":"#### 11 Retail outlets\n\n (1) Australia Post must maintain, in Australia, at least 4,000 offices (retail outlets) at which persons can purchase Australia Post products and services.\n (2) At any time, there must be at least 2,500 retail outlets that are not in major cities, and such outlets must be at least 50% of all the retail outlets.\n (3) Retail outlets must be located so that:\n (a) at least 90% of residences in major cities are located within 2.5 kilometres of a retail outlet; and\n (b) at least 85% of residences not in major cities are located within 7.5 kilometres of a retail outlet.\n (4) To avoid doubt, this section does not require a retail outlet to be capable of retailing all kinds of Australia Post products and services at all times.","sortOrder":11}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"On its face this instrument implements and prescribes performance standards under section 28C of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 (see ss.3, 6 and 9). The regulations set operational thresholds and exclusions but do not expressly change the statutory scope of reserved services or create new categories of service beyond the Act; they translate the Act’s performance‑standards mandate into specific numeric and operational requirements."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple quantitative performance metrics that require monitoring and reporting (frequency percentages in s.7(1); delivery accuracy target s.8(4); delivery-time days in s.8(6)).","Detailed delivery-time matrix with many origin/destination permutations and business‑day timeframes (s.8(6) table).","Numerous exclusions and conditional applicability rules that affect when standards apply (letters excluded under s.8(2); exception for addresses not normally serviced at s.8(3)).","Complex rules for determining the day of posting, including notified clearance days/times and return to normal carriage (s.8(7), (7A), (7B)).","Operational discretion and judgment calls (what counts as a practicable and reasonable delivery point — s.7(2)), creating measurement ambiguity.","Prescriptive infrastructure and accessibility requirements with numeric and proximity thresholds (minimum street posting boxes and lodgement facilities s.10(1); retail outlet counts, geographic split and distance targets s.11(1)–(3)).","Cross-references to the Australian Postal Corporation Act and other Act provisions (authority and purpose references in ss.3, 6, 9; references to subsections 29(2), 30, 90UA–90UC in s.8), increasing legal interdependence.","External geographic standard referenced for the definition of 'in major cities' (ASGS Edition 3) — s.5, creating reliance on an external dataset."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set measurable service standards for Australia Post’s reserved letter services: how often addresses must be visited, target delivery times depending on origin and destination, accuracy targets for correct delivery, and minimum numbers and proximity of post boxes and retail outlets. They apply to Australia Post’s operational obligations and matter to senders and recipients because they fix numeric targets (percentages, business‑day timeframes, outlet counts and distance thresholds) that Australia Post must meet and that shape service availability."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears consistent with its original purpose of setting performance standards for Australia Post. The scope covers mail delivery frequency, speed, and accessibility of services as expected for postal corporation regulations."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple cross-references to the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 (sections 28C, 29, 30, 90UA, 90UB, 90UC)","Nested conditional logic in section 8 with multiple exclusions (subsections 2 and 3) before applying the main delivery standards","Complex table with 9 items mapping combinations of origin/destination locations to delivery timeframes","Geographic definitions rely on external statistical standards (Australian Statistical Geography Standard Edition 3) with specific carve-outs for Hobart and Darwin","Section 8(7) contains three-tiered conditional logic for determining the 'day of posting' with interdependent paragraphs (a), (aa), and (b)","Defined terms include forward references (notified clearance day/time defined by subsections not yet provided in the excerpt)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets minimum service standards Australia Post must meet for regular letters and its retail network: required delivery frequency and timeframes, and a mandated national footprint of post offices and street posting boxes. \n\nIt protects consumers—especially regional and rural users—by ensuring baseline access to reliable postal services and preventing unilateral service cuts."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-postal-corporation-performance-standards-regulations-2019","history":"/api/acts/australian-postal-corporation-performance-standards-regulations-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-postal-corporation-performance-standards-regulations-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-postal-corporation-performance-standards-regulations-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-postal-corporation-performance-standards-regulations-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-postal-corporation-performance-standards-regulations-2019/documents"}}